Cash register and indicator



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. R..LONGAORE. CASH REGISTER AND INDICATOR.

No. 406,749. Patented July 9, 1889 WITNESSES: I/VVE/VTOR .4 4 ATTOH/VEYS N. PETERS. PhnIn-Lilhogmpher. Washinglcn, D. (L

'(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3. M. R. LONGAGRE. CASH REGISTER ANDINDICATOR.

No. 406,749. Patented July 9, 1889.

INVENTOH WITNESSES:

L/(owim A TTORNEYS N. PETERS. Phuw-Lilhognphun \Vnshingmu. D4 C.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.. M. R. LONGAORE.

GASH REGISTER: AND INDICATOR. No. 406,749. Patented July 9, 1889.

WITNESES: IIVVEIVTOR 4" M W N. PETERS, PholuLilhcgl-mphor Wauhivlglcn.D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MATTHIAS R. LONGAORE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CASH REGISTER AND INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 406,749, dated July 9,1889.

Application filed April 5, 1889. Serial No. 306,081. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MArrHIAs R. LONGACRE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Philadelphia, Philadelphia county,Pennsylvania, have invented Improvements in Indicating-Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention consists of certain improvements in the cash registers andindicators for which I have obtained Letters Patent of the United StatesNo. 369,193, dated August 30, 1887, and for which I have applied forLetters Patent of the United States October 18, 1888, Serial No.288,497.

The objects of my present invention are to simplify the construction andoperation of the mechanism, to reduce the number of parts, and toconstruct and arrange the details so that the machine will occupy lessspace than has been heretofore necessary.

My present invention conforms in its main principles of construction andoperation to the cash registering and indicating mechanism of my formerpatent and pending application to the extent that ithas among itsprincipal elements the sets or series of numbered operating-keys for theseveral columns of figures, together with the sliding n umber-plates orother moving indicators impelled by springs and controlled by the keysto show the numbers through openings in the case when the keys areoperated. As in my former machines, there is also a locking bolt or barfor each set of keys and means for restoring the parts to their normalpositions; but by my present improvements I entirely dispense with thehinged retaining-frame, which in each key-bar of my former machinesnormally held the sliding number-plate against the action of theimpelling-spring, but, which could be operated by any one of the keys torelease the sliding nu mber-plate. In my present machine each movingindicator is retained in its normal position at zero against the actionof its impelling-spring directly by the keys themselves, either one ormore or all of them, and released by operating any one of the keys.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal verticalsection of sufficient of an indicating-machine to illustrate myimprovements, the section being taken on the line 1 i, Fig. @t. Fig. 2is avertical section on the line 2 2, Figs. 3 and 4, but showing one ofthe keys depressed and the moving indicator and the locking-bar moved totheir new posi tions. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3 3,Fig. 1, of one of the key-bars. Fig. 4: is a plan view of the machine.Fig. 5 is a perspective view, drawn to a larger scale, of a part of thesliding number-plate or indicator and some of the key-stems. Fig". 6 isa perspective view of the back end of the locking-bar and slidingnumber-plate with some of the keys. Fig.7 is a view of a modification.Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a simplified form of a part'of the devices shown in Fig. 7.

In the illustration of my present invention I have, as before, shown themoving indicator primarily as a sliding rack or number plate carryingupon its face the figures 0 to 9, which figures are to show through asuitable opening or openings in the case of the machine when one of thekeys of that set is operated. It is not, however, essential that thenumbers should be upon the sliding plates themselves, although I preferto arrange them in that way. 'lheindicating-nuinbers may be upon wheelsto be operated by the moving plates, or upon the plates as well as thewheels, as is the preferable plan, so that the numbers upon one may bearranged to be seen by the salesman and the numbers on the other seen bythe customer. It is preferable to have in the machine four of thesemoving indicators, two being provided for the two columns of cents andtwo for two columns of dollars.

As the construction. and operation of the several moving indicators withtheir sets of keys are alike, a description of one will apply to all,and in the following explanation it will suffice to describe one set ofthese devices, or, in other words, one section for one column offigures.

A is the fixed casing or frame, which may or may not, as in my formermachines, be combined with a sliding drawer. In this frame are mountedin this instance several interchangeable key-bars representingsuccessive denominations, as .units, tens, hundreds, &c., each of whichcarriesa sliding rack-plate or number-plate B, the nine numberedoperating-keys K, which directly control the position and movement ofthe sliding number-plate, and the locking-bar I. Each key-bar, with itskeys, sliding plate, and locking-bar, is complete in itself andindependent of the other bars, with which it is interchangeable.

Each number-plate I3 is shown in this instance as a flat plate havingupon one edge for a portion of its length a rack Z), into which gears aspur-wheel I), mounted to turn freely upon a shaft E in the casing. Tothis shaft is secured one end of a coiled spring F, while the other isconnected to the inner periphery of the spur-wheel, Fig. 2, and theparts are in the present case shown as so arranged that the spring tendsto turn the wheel D in the direction of the arrow 1, Fig. 1, so as toimpel the number-plate in the direction of the arrow 2 when released bythe operation of one of the keys. I do not, however, wish to restrict;myself in this regard, as the numberplate may bearranged to be impelledby the spring inv whichever direction coilvenience may dictate.

Each keybar carries nine numbered operating-keys K, passing verticallythrough the frame of the bar and guided therein. In the machines of myformer invention the keys with their heads bearing numbers have beenarranged in one line for each set or series; but it is found that bybringing the keystems close together the necessarymovement of thesliding plate can be shortened by nearly one-half, the manipulation ofthe keys facilitated, and the size of the machine materially lessenedand its practical value correspondingly increased. I acctinnplish thisby placing the numbered head of each key out of line with its respectivestem and arranging each series of numbered heads alternately on one sideor the other of the line of the key-stems of that series, as will bereadily understood by reference to Fig.

In order to avoid possible confusion between the keys of one set and thekeys of an adjoining set, one series may have the numbers in black upona white ground, while the adjoining series have the numbersin white upona black grouml, or they may be otherwise arranged so as to obtainsimilar contrasts between the adjoining sets.

For convenience of manipulation of the keys I have arranged them inbanks one above the other, as illustrated in Figs. 1. and 2, and in thecase illustrated the keys of the higher numbers are on the upper banks;but this order of arrangement of the keys is not essential. In thepresent instance I have shown three banks of keys with stems ofdifferent lengths, there being three keys in each bank for each Thecover-plate o of the machine is also preferably stepped.

I prefer to make the stems for the keys of the rectangularsectionillustrated in the d ram ings, and each key has upon its side a pin orprojection 7." to engage with an inclined groove or notch j in thelocking-bar I. I prefer, as willbe seen on reference to Figs. 23 and (S,to make this locking-bar double, so that the stems of the keys passthrough it, and in that case I make the inclined notches j for the pins7:. of the successive keys alternately on opposite sides of the doublelocking-bar, so that, for instance, the pin lit ot' the first key willfind its notch on one side of the locking-bar, while the pin ot' thesecond key will find its notch on the other side of the lock ing-bar, aswill be seen on reference to Fig. 2.

Each key is sustained in the normal position illustrated in Fig.1 bymeans of a yielding retainer 7;, carried by the top plate orany fixedpart of the key-bar, and having a bent end entering a notchw in the stemof the key. Whenever it is desired, however, to depress any of the keys,this support I: will. yield and allow the key to descend, as illustratedin the case of the fifth key in Figs. 2 and. 7. \Vhen the keys aremaintained in their normal elevated positions by means of these yieldingsupport-s, as shown in Fig. 1, their several pins or projections to willbe out of the inclined notches j and in. line with opposite bevels orinclines j at the mouths of the several notches for all the keys whichare to act at: retainers as well as stops. The result:- is, that whenone of the keys depressed its pin 7;. will enter the correspondinginelinml notch j, and in doing so will positively move the locking-bar Iin the direction of its arrow, Fig. 1. As the locking-bar moves in thatdirection, however, the bevels or inclines] will come into contact withthe pins 7;. of the other keys and raise them until they ride upon thehorizontal portion of the lockingbar, whereby they are locked in thiselevated position, Fig. 'When the loeking-bm'on the restoration of theparts to their normal positions is returned in a direction opposite tothat pointed out by the arrow, Fig. 1 the depressed key will be raised(owing to the riding of its pin 7n up its inclined noteh j) until itsyield ing support 7.' again engages the notch a in the stem of the key.At the same time this return movement of the locking-bar permits theother keys to fall back again (by gravity in this instance) to theirnormal. positions, from which they had been raised by the in clinesj, asshown in Fig. 1. I have used the term locking-bat in this specificationfor convenience in a partially descriptive sense, although it will beseen that the bar erl'ornis other functions besides locking the keys.

As I have before said, in my present invention I entirely dispense withthe hinged retaining-frame or equivalent retainer for the movingindicating part, and I make one or more of the keysperl'orm that duty.In Figs. 1, 2, and 5 I have shown the machine as constructed so that allthe keys directly act. as the retainers for the sliding number-plate, aswell as stops therefor.

I preferably cut a longitudinal slot in the sliding number-plate II, asshown in Fig. 5,

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and form in one or both edges of this slot notches b, Fig. 5, to act inconjunction with projections z'upon such of the key-stems as are to actas retainers for the sliding numberplate.

In Fig. 5 all the stems there illustrated are provided with theseprojections, and the slotted number-plate is provided with acorresponding set of notches b, and these notches are for conveniencearranged alternately on opposite sides of the longitudinal slot, and theprojections L on the key-stems are located correspondingly. Theprojection 'L' is on the side of each stem at the bottom, and when thekey is in its normal position (illustrated in Fig. 1) the lower end isjust within the longitudinal slot of the sliding number-plate, and itsprojection 11 engages with the correspond ing notch b in the slidingnumber-plate. When one of the keys is depressed.say, for instance, No.5, as shown in Fig. 2-the first effect (owing to the consequent movementof the locking-bar in the direction of its arrow, Fig. 1) is to raiseall the other keys-out of engagement with the sliding number-plate. Iprefer to arrange the parts so that the raised keys come out ofengagement with the number-plate before the key being depressed becomesdisengaged from it; but as the key being depressed moves farther down italso has its projection 7: carried out of engagement with the notch inthe sliding number-plate, and the latter under the influence of thespring F in the wheel D then moves in the direction of its arrow, Fig.2, until the end of the slot in the sliding number-plate comes againstthe stem of the depressed key, which then thus acts as a stop anddetermines the position of the nu mber-plate and the number or numberswhich shall show through the opening or openings in the case.

I prefer, as in my former machine, to provide two sets of openings toshow the numbers on the moving indicators, one of these openings a beingfor the operator and the other a forthe customer, both sets of numbersin such case being upon the sliding number-plate, but facing in oppositedirections, as will be readily understood, and in such case the operatorwill have to read his figures from right to left,or backward.

Instead of having the second set of numbers upon the number-plate to beexhibited to, the customer, I may put such numbers upon the periphery ofthe wheel D, which would then preferably be enlarged in diameter and itsposition changed, say, to that shown in Fig. 7, so that the numberscould be 0011- veniently seen through an opening in the case. It will beunderstood that the first set of numbers upon the sliding number-platesmay also be dispensed with and the numbers upon the wheels D only beemployed.

To restore the indicating and other parts to their normal positions, Imay provide a sliding bar Q, Figs. 1 and 2, guided'in the frame andhaving its outer end formed into a rack gearing into a small pinion d onthe wheel D, so that'by pushing this rack-bar in the direction of itsarrow, Fig. 1, the sliding number-plate will be returned to its normalposition. The several keys which act as retainers for the slidingnumber-plate will fall again into engagement with the latter.

To effect the return movement of the locking-bar I, any suitable meansmay be provided, and I have shown in this instance a trigger M, carriedby the sliding number-plate, Figs. 1, 2, and 6. This trigger is weightedat'its rear end or is acted on by a spring, so as to normally occupy theposition illustrated in Fig. 2, so that when the sliding number-plateisreturned to its normal position the end of the trigger will come intocontact with the lower end of a lever L, pivoted to the frame, so thatthe upper end of the latter, striking the pin Z, will move thelocking-bar in a direction opposite to that pointed out by its arrow inFig. 1. As soon as that has been accomplished, a finger m on the underside of the trigger will come into contact with a fixed pin p, Figs. 2and 6, on the frame and throw the nose of the trigger out of engagementwith the lever L, so that the latter will fall back to the positionillustrated in Fig. 1, and the locking-bar is then free to be moved inthe direction of its arrow, Fig. 1, when a key shall be next depressed.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 7 only one of the keys acts as aretainer for the slidingnumber-plate to keep it at its normal positionwith the indicating-figures at zero. \iVith but one key acting as aretainer it will be understood that only one notch Z) is needed in thesliding number-plate, and that only one key has a projection i, whileall the other keys have their lower ends cut short, so that they onlycoact with the sliding number-plate when they are depressed, asillustrated in the case of the fifth key, Fig. 7.

The bevels or inclines j are dispensed with for such of the keys as arenot to act as retainers, and in this case I have shown the last key tothe right in this figure as the retainerkey, and for this there is anincline or bevel j. If one of the non-retainer keys be depressed-thefifth key, for instance as shown, the locking-bar will be moved in thedirection of its arrow by the entrance of the pin into itsinclined'notch j, and consequently the bevel 7" will raise theretainerkey out of engagement with the sliding number-plate. The latteris then impelled forward by its spring F until arrested by the fifthkey, which has been depressed into the pathway and stops it at thedesired position. The remaining keys are not affected, but remain intheir normal elevated positions, in which they are locked by themovement of thelockiug-bar, so that they cannot then be depressed, aswill be seen on reference to Fig. 7.

Although I have described the sliding number-plate as slotted, I do notwish it to be understood that such feature is essential. For

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instance, as shown in Fig. 8, the sliding number-plate maybe seta littleto one side of the line of key-stems and a stop s formed on the side ofthe plate to act in place of the end of the longitudinal slot, Fig. 5,to come into contact with the stem of the depressed key. If only one ofthe keys is to act as a retainer as well as a stop, a single notch D atthe proper point in the edge of the sliding plate will suffice.

\Vith the above-described indicating mechanism I may combine anysuitable form of totalizing mechanismsueh, for instance, as found in myformer machines; but the totalizing devices l'orm no essential part ofmy present invention.

I claim as my invention 1. An indicating apparatus having a movingindicator and means to move it from its normal position at zero, with aseries of keys, one or more engaging with the said indicator to retainit in its normal position, and any one of the keys being adapted whenoperated to act as a stop for the moving indicator, all substantially asdescribed.

2. An imlicating apparatus having a number of moving indicators forsuccessive colum us of figures, as units, tens, hundreds, &e., and eachhaving combined with it a means to move it from its normal position atzero, and a series ofkeys, one or more engaging with the said indicatorto retain it in its normal position, and any one of the keys beingadapted when operated to act as a stop for the moving indicator, allsubstantially as de scribed.

23. An indicating apparatus having a moving indicator and itsimpellingspring, with a series of keys, one or more engaging with thesaid indicator to retain it in its normal position, and any one of thekeys being adapted when operated to act as a stop for the movingindicator, and devices, substantially as set forth, to restore the partsto their normal positions, all substantially as set forth.

l. In an indicating apparatus, the combination of a moving indicator andits impellin g-sprin g with a series of keys, each of which is adaptedto arrest the moving indicator, and one or more of the keys engagingwith the movingimlicator to retain it in its normal position, and alocking-bar to act in conjunction with the keys, all substantially asdescribed.

5. An indicating apparatus having interchangeable key-bars representingsuccessive denominations, as units, tens, hundreds, &c., each carrying amoving indicator and a series of keys, one or more engaging with theindicator to retain it in its normal position at zero, and any one ofthe keys serving as stops, all substantially as described.

(3. An indicating apparatus having interchangeable key-bars, eachcarrying a moving indicator and its impelling-spring, with a se* ries ofkeys, one or more engaging with the indicator to retain it in itsiujnfmal position,

and a locking-bolt to act in conjunction with the keys, all snbstantially as described.

7. In an indicating apparatus, the combination of a moving indicator andits impelling-spring with a series of keys, one or more engaging withthe indicator to retain it in its normal position, and any one of thekeys serving to arrest the moving indicator when depressed, and alocking-bar having a positive motion. imparted to it by the depressedkey, all substantially set forth.

8. In an indicating apparatus, the combination of a moving indicator andits impelling-spring with a series of keys to normally retain and alsoto arrest the indicator when released, and having pins or n'ojections,with a locking-bolt having inclined notches for the pins or projectionsto move the bar upon the depression of a key, all substantially asdescribed.

9. In an indicating apparatus, the combination. of a moving indicatorand its impelling-spring with a series of keys to normally retain andalso to arrest the indicator when released, and having pins orprojections, with a locking-bar having inclined notches tor the pins orprojections to move the bar upon the depression of a key, and yieldingretainers to hold the keys in their normal elevated positions, allsubstantially as described.

10. The con'ibination. of a moving indicator having a notch vor notcheswith a series of keys, one or more having a projection or projections toengage with such notch or notches to retain the indicator in its normalposition, and an im pelling-sprin g for the indicator, an y of said keysbeing adapted to act as a stop for the moving indicator, allsubstantially as de scribed.

11. The combination of amoving indicator and its impelling-spring with aseries of keys having pins or projections, one or more engaging with theindicator to retain. .itin its normal position, and any one of the keysacting as stops for said moving .irulicator, with a locking-bar havinginclined grooves for said pins or projections, and also having bevels orinclines 7" for such .of the keys as act as re tainers, allsubstantially as described.

12. The combination of amoving indicator, its impellirig-spring, and aseries of keys to normally retain the indicator, and also to arrest it,with a locking-bar acting in conjunction with the keys and devices,substantially as set forth, to return the parts to position.

13. The combination of a moving indicator, its impelling-spring, and aseries of keys to normally retain the indicator, and also to arrest it,with a locking-bar acting in conjunction with the keys, yieldingretainers to hold the keys in their normal elevated positions, anddevices, substantially as set forth, to re turn the parts to position.

14. An indicating apparatus having a 11 umber of moving indicators andcorrespomling series oi. keys representing successi ve d eneminations,as units, tens, hundreds, &c., with the numbered heads of each series ofkeys out of line with their respective key-stems and arrangedalternately on one and the other side of the line of their stems,substantially as and for the purpose described.

15. An indicating apparatus having a number of moving indicators fordifferent columns of figures, and each indicator with a series ofnumbered keys therefor, the numbers of adjoining series being contrastedin 10 color, as. and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

MATTHIAS R. LONGACRE. \Vitnesses:

HUBERT HoWsoN, H ARRY SMITH.

